Interrupting the d00mscroll with astronomy

In the past year, people have become more attached to their phones and computers than ever before, with new and social media content becoming a primary way to gain new information and safely interact with others. While people often fall prey to the d00mscroll, and get sucked into the infinitely scrolling feed of bad news that defines 2020, it is possible to interrupt this cycle with science and lush space imagery.

In this presentation, we will discuss effective ways to grab people’s attention away from this world and carry them away to someplace else. While there is no one right way to create astronomy content for new and social media platforms, there are wrong ways, and there are better ways. This talk will discuss ways to learn the culture of online media, and leverage the internet in an ethical manner to provide both just-in-time education, as well as content that provides a spacey escape people will want to follow. This includes: strategies for engaging in these technologies effectively without them becoming time sinks; ethical considerations in using new and social media; and examples of safe and effective ways to use these technologies in both formal and informal settings.